Reflections

Disclaimer: This is not the happiest story you will read this season, so you have had fair warning. Last week at a Christmas party I ran into Judy, an artist friend. She told me a story about her grandchild…or maybe it’s her great-grandchild, but she certainly doesn’t seem old enough to have one. This sweet little two-year-old named Cori has been losing her ability to walk. She has braces on her legs and uses a walker for stability, but she wears a beautiful smile on her face. Her parents have just found out that she has a rare disease with a very long medical name. For short it is called MLD. Judy says that Cori may only have a couple of years to live and will probably go blind and deaf. Choking back tears, Judy apologized for dampening our holiday spirits. Then she showed us a picture on her phone of Cori. She said that the family is trying to give Cori as many special moments as they can while she is here, starting with lighting up their house with hundreds of Christmas lights. Cory says they are “My lights”.

I was touched by how hard Judy is taking this news, but on top of that, how hard it must be for this young mother to be taking this news. I don’t know who she is, but I am a mother and I would not want to hear this news. I would just want to be able to keep seeing my baby’s face. What’s a mother to do? So, I painted this little portrait (Cori, oil, 7″ x 5″) from the cell phone picture Judy shared with me, as a Christmas gift for her to give to Cori’s mom…to remember her baby’s smiling face and to cherish the time she has with her.

It makes me wonder this Christmas season, how many people are considering what Jesus’ mother must have been going through…to look into her baby’s face and know that he would suffer for us all. What’s a mother to do? Hug your child. Make sure you cherish every moment with them, and share the love of Jesus this Christmas season with someone you don’t even know.